CLEVELAND -- Sandy Alomar Jr. finished as the runner-up in the Indians' managerial search, but that did not deter him from agreeing to stay on Cleveland's coaching staff.

Terry Francona offered Alomar a spot on his coaching staff shortly after being named Cleveland's new manager on Oct. 6. The rest of the staff might not be finalized until next week at the earliest, but Francona made a point to make sure Alomar knew he was welcome to stay in the fold.

"I reached out to him immediately, just because I thought it was respectful," Francona said at his introductory press conference on Oct. 8. "He's very aware of how I feel about him and his baseball ability and my relationship with him."

Francona and Alomar were once winter league teammates in Puerto Rico.

Alomar will presumably return as Cleveland's bench coach, which is the role he filled under Manny Acta until the former manager was dismissed on Sept. 27. Alomar, who has been a coach with the Indians since the 2010 season, served as the club's interim manager for the final six games of the regular season.

In a text message to MLB.com on Tuesday, Alomar confirmed that he has agreed to be on Francona's staff. Alomar -- who has interviewed for managerial spots with the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Cubs in the past -- might still be a candidate for another manager position elsewhere this winter.

The 2013 season will be the final season under Alomar's current contract.

Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said Tuesday that former Astros manager Brad Mills is also a candidate to join Francona's staff. Mills and Francona were teammates with the Expos, and Mills served as a coach for Francona in his previous managerial stops with Philadelphia and Boston.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, hitting coach Bruce Fields and third-base coach Steve Smith will not be back with the Indians for the 2013 season. It is still unclear whether pitching coach Ruben Niebla, bullpen coach Dave Miller or first-base coach Tom Wiedenbauer will be back with Cleveland next season.